On The Town: Whim W’Him Spring Fling

On Thursday, April 28, contemporary dance company Whim W’Him held their first of hopefully many Spring Flings at The Escala. With a beautiful venue, Whim W’Him hosted this party in efforts to not only bring the arts community together but also to support the upcoming season.

Attendees ranged from Whim W’Him dancers, artists and supporters of the arts in general. As a whole, the crowd was a perfect meld of old faces and new. Before everyone was ushered away to watch videos of past Whim W’Him performances, there was a general introduction of who the dancers were, in addition to guest choreographer James Gregg.

Once most of the crowd had settled in, everyone was brought together to view footage of old Whim W’Him creations. Artistic Director Olivier Wevers gave a brief introduction, insisting that watching dance on a two-dimensional screen cut the original performance short of the full experience. It was clear that his work was still important and personal to him, which made it even more special for the audience. We watched an old performance of Olivier’s rendition of August Bournonville’s Flower Festival in Genzano. The piece was innovative, yet still held the lightness and playfulness of the original. It was a good throwback to get viewers in the mood to celebrate and support the dance community.

Following the viewing, Olivier gave a brief yet inspiring speech on the importance of art in the development of society and its capability to bring a community together. Olivier strives to support dancers in a climate where they can survive off of having dance as their primary source of income. He reminded everyone that ticket sales do not nearly cover everything that goes into the lifestyle and production of dance. A donor spoke up on how he felt that donating to Whim W’Him has been one of the better investments he’s made, because of his love for dance and all he got in return for supporting the art. The entire dialogue that developed around the topic made it clear that Olivier has helped cultivate Whim W’Him into a highly familial environment. He even opened his speech by welcoming all the new faces in the room to the Whim W’Him family.

Moved and inspired, everyone agreed with Olivier in his emphasis of how important it is for patrons of the arts to help out in ways other than just attending shows. He also announced the return of dance collaboration Approaching Ecstasy, which had been a massive hit in the past. Don’t miss any of the upcoming season, SENSES, featuring six entirely new creations and seven guest choreographers. More details coming soon at www.WhimWhim.org.